The View From 25 Years in Business: People, Principles, and Persistence

Join us now at Integrity Leaders: Community membership and learning, for new leaders, learner-managers, or first-time founders seeking clarity on their leadership style, and who have a healthy love of sci-fi (more info at the bottom!)

Listen to this week’s podcast episode, Ep.184: Values, Integrity, and How to Lead, from 25 Years Running International Companies, with Vaishali Shah, using the player below, or click here.

25 Years Leading International Businesses

When Vaishali Shah talks about leadership, she’s not quoting from a book or recycling the latest management trend. She’s speaking from 25 years of living it, leading companies across industries, countries, and cultures.

The conversation in this week’s episode of Leading with Integrity isn’t a tidy list of theories; it’s a set of hard-earned lessons about what works, what fails, and what truly lasts in leadership.

Lesson 1: Values Are Your Anchor

Vaishali is clear: without values to guide you, it’s easy to get lost. Across borders and industries, she’s seen leaders who compromise on their values to win in the short term, only to lose trust, credibility, and peace of mind in the long run.

Her approach is to define and hold onto her values as non-negotiables. They shape how she hires, how she decides which clients to work with, and how she responds under pressure, how those tough decisions are made. That doesn’t mean leadership becomes simple, but it does mean decisions are consistent even in chaotic or uncertain times (e.g. a global pandemic…).

For leaders starting out or stepping up, the takeaway is this: write your values down, share them with your team, and check every major decision against them.

Lesson 2: Integrity Travels Well

Running businesses internationally forces you to adapt quickly to different cultural norms, legal frameworks, and market expectations. What doesn’t change, Vaishali says, is the impact of integrity. Whether in London, Dubai, or Mumbai, people notice when you keep your word, follow through on promises, and treat everyone with respect.

She’s also realistic about the fact that integrity will cost you sometimes. Walking away from a deal because it doesn’t align with your principles or the fit simply isn’t right, can feel like a missed opportunity. But Vaishali has learned the opportunities that do align are the ones worth having.

Lesson 3: Listen Before You Lead

Cross-border leadership means stepping into environments where your assumptions may be wrong. Vaishali makes a point of asking questions before she makes decisions, listening for the context that might not be obvious. This isn’t about slowing things down but ensuring decisions land well and stick.

For leaders in any setting, the principle applies: you’ll lead more effectively if you take time to understand the people, the environment, and the unspoken rules. There’s parallels here to remote leadership as well (something else Vaishali has experienced, since she leads two businesses but can’t be in two places at once!)

Lesson 4: People Drive Performance

It’s tempting for leaders to focus heavily on strategies, systems, and spreadsheets. But Vaishali has seen over and over again that the real driver of business success is people, their commitment, creativity, and connection to the work.

Her leadership puts an emphasis on making sure team members feel valued and supported. She believes in recognising effort, not just results, and in creating spaces where people feel safe to contribute ideas. It’s not about being “nice”, it is about unlocking the kind of engagement that produces consistent, high-quality results.

Lesson 5: Resilience Is a Daily Habit

Two and a half decades in leadership guarantees you’ll face crises; economic downturns, shifting markets, internal conflicts, and global events that shake your plans overnight. Vaishali credits her ability to navigate these challenges to building resilience as a habit, not just a reaction.

That resilience comes from surrounding herself with trusted advisors, maintaining perspective in tough times, and refusing to let short-term setbacks derail long-term goals.

Lesson 6: Keep Learning, Keep Adapting

One of the most striking aspects of Vaishali’s career is that despite decades of experience, she still approaches leadership as a learning process. Markets change, teams change, and leadership challenges evolve.

Staying effective means staying curious, reading widely, seeking feedback, and watching what works in different environments.

That principle of life-long learning is so important for leadership (I may have mentioned this before…) and it’s always inspiring to see a real-life example of somebody practicing this mindset.

Practical Actions to Take This Week

So, how can you - the new leader or first-time founder - benefit from Vaishali’s experiences? I was hoping you might ask that question… here are a few steps you can put into practice immediately:

1. Clarify your values: And test them against a current decision you’re facing.

2. Identify your non-negotiables: Before you’re under pressure.

3. Ask three questions: Before making a significant team or business decision (think of it like the ‘5 Whys’ of root cause analysis, but before the fact instead of after, when it’s too late to change anything).

4. Recognise one person’s contribution: This week, shine a light on a teammate, in a way that’s meaningful to them.

5. Review your resilience habits: How are you preparing for challenges before they arrive?

Final Musings…

Vaishali’s leadership story is a reminder that the principles to sustain a career needn’t be flashy. They’re steady, consistent, and grounded in values. Values that travel well across any border or business type.

Success isn’t just measured in profits or market share, but in the trust, respect, and loyalty you build along the way.

(And on the subject of profits, in another great example of Servant Leadership, Vaisahli donates a percentage of all her profits to good causes, and has done from the start of her first business; following another of her core values about philanthropy).

-

Anyway, thanks again to Vaishali for a wonderful conversation, do check out the full episode this week: https://smartlink.ausha.co/leading-with-integrity/ep-184-values-integrity-and-how-to-lead-from-25-years-running-international-companies-with-vaishali-shah-leadership (if you prefer video, you can also catch it on YouTube here).

Next week, we’re talking mental health at work, selfish leadership, and more with my next guest Gary Parsons.

Hope to see you there, and until then: Be a Leader, Not a Boss!

- David

In case you don’t know me that well, I’m David Hatch and I’m here to help new managers and first-time founders with their leadership skills, so they can become leaders not bosses, lead with integrity, and build happier, higher performing teams, more effective organisations, and, ultimately: successful businesses.

Be less Reaver. Be more Mal Reynolds. Become the leader you wish you’d had, and come join my online leadership community. If you have a healthy love of sci-fi and want to learn more about leadership, then this is the community for you. Solopreneurs also welcome. 😉

Here’s the link: Integrity Leaders: Community membership and learning, for new leaders or first-time founders.